Higher payouts from California Lottery “Scratchers”

LOS ANGELES, Ca. – California Lottery officials are estimating that there will be an increase of $75million in prizes paid out from the “Scratchers” games after a new law was passed that allowed a higher share of revenue from the scratch cards to be paid out as prizes.

The new plan to provide more prizes will in turn, hopefully, see many more people playing the games and increase gambling revenue for the state.

Money given to schools from lottery revenue is expected to increase by as much as $400 million a year. This year’s lottery proceeds for public education were $1 billion. Lottery funding generally makes up just over 1% of the state education budget.

Praising the new plan, Lottery Director Joan Borucki said, “There are more prizes to give out, so people are going to win more often. When people win more often, they feel like playing more often, which in turn will increase sales, and as sales go up our contribution to education goes up.”

Not everyone is happy with the new plan. Fred Jones, leader of the California Coalition Against Gambling Expansion explained why. “”Whenever the lottery says it’s going to get more Californians to play, what that means is they are going to be fleecing more Californians of their hard-earned money. Gambling doesn’t create wealth. It only gives wealth to some people at the expense of other people.”

California’s Lottery Commission approved the first new game on Wednesday, a $5 Scratcher to be released on June 1st, in which the number of $1-million winners will grow to 25 from the 10 or so winners currently paid. It has been worked out that the new game will direct an additional $15 million to schools through June 30.

Scratchers games costing $1 and $2 also will have larger prize pools starting in June.